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Larry Johnson Leaves Penn State’s Football Staff

Amid reports that he will accept a position at Ohio State, longtime defensive line coach Larry Johnson, Sr. announced Monday that he will not continue as part of the Penn State football coaching staff.

The 61 year-old Johnson has been with the Nittany Lions staff since 1996.

Johnson told PennLive.com on Monday night that he has twice met with new Penn State head coach James Franklin, whose hiring was announced by the school on Saturday, and that he was offered the opportunity to keep his position and turned down the chance. Said Johnson, “This is not the end for me. It’s just the end of my time at Penn State.”

Johnson served as Penn State’s interim head coach for about a week-and-a-half, from the announcement on December 31 that Bill O’Brien was leaving the school to take the head coaching position with the NFL’s Houston Texans until Franklin was hired Saturday.